Rosswog Running Blog

It was another cool and beautiful morning for running along the Wasatch Front.  Even though I was not looking forward to it (i.e., I’m still learning to embrace running hills), I did a hill workout today.  I completed the 5.84-mile run up to the Mount Olympus Trailhead in a time of 55:14.  This was by no means my fastest time for this run, but absolute a workout.  On the way back down, I ran one lap of Oakridge Elementary track and one half of a lap around the Big Cottonwood Park softball complex.  Also on the descent, I concentrated on picking up the pace a little bit by getting miles in at 6:56, 6:20, and 5:52.  The total distance of this run was 12.5.  This was also my second week (i.e., since I started running over four years ago, I measure my weeks from Monday through Sunday) of getting in at least 60 miles (completed 61.1 miles, my second highest weekly total ever--63.3 miles is my highest).  So far, so go with the increase in mileage!

Today was also another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge.  This time, I completed a total of 130 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 30 push-ups.  In addition, I was able to sneak in 200 sit-ups while watching the Sunday morning news programs.

Following work, I hit the treadmill and ran 3.2 miles.  With the exception of 1.2 miles, this workout was mostly at an easy pace.  After I got home, I added on an extra easy-pace mile around the neighborhood.

My non-running workout consisted of 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 30 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (60, 50 lbs) reverse curls.

It was a speed play day for me.  After work, I ran 6 miles of half-mile intervals (i.e., the slow halves at 8.7 miles per hour, while the fast halves at 10.7) and completed it in a time of 37:09.  This interval workout felt much better than the one I completed last Thursday.  I followed this interval workout with a 0.1-mile run at marathon pace and a 0.7-mile cool down at an easy pace.

For my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 30 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

Even though I got off of work later than normal today, I was still able to get in my running workout on my favorite treadmill before biking home.  This run consisted of 3.5 miles at an easy pace and 2.6 miles at marathon pace.  In addition, I was able to complete 3.1 miles of this run while wearing my Vibram Five Fingers.

Along with getting in a nice 32.1-mile bike ride to and from work, I completed 200 sit-ups, 30 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls, and another repeat of day eleven (i.e., week 4, day 2) of the Push-up Challenge.  In regards to the latter, I achieved a total of 128 push-ups over the following five sets that consisted of 25, 25, 25, 25, and 28 push-ups.  Overall, today was a little bit of a drain, but a great workout!

Even though I was a little bit tired today (i.e., once again I’ll be paying off my sleep debt over the weekend), it jumped on the treadmill after work.  I did not want to take any of my workout home with me; therefore, I did my entire 6.4-mile run on the treadmill.  In regards to this run, I split it in half by completing 3.2 miles at both an easy and marathon pace.  In addition, I did half on my workout in my Vibram Five Fingers.

My non-running workout consisted of 200 sit-ups, 30 push-ups, 50 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

This morning I went out for one of my rare sub-6:00-am runs.  In addition, for the first time since purchasing a pair of Five Fingers over a year ago, I ran outside with them.  In short, the treadmill is a lot softer than the road and you really feel the gravel poke at the bottom of your feet.  Wow, I really felt it every time my heel hit the road and was basically running on my toes (i.e., like tiptoeing over hot coals) for the first half of a mile.  However, near the end of my 1.6-mile experiment to Big Cottonwood Park and back, my feet were feeling more comfortable with the terrain even though I was averaging a cautious 10:00 minute-per-mile pace.

After work I mixed in two run; that is, one on the treadmill and another over to Mill Creek Elementary and back by way 1500 South and Big Cottonwood Park.  The combined distance of these runs was 5.2 miles (mostly at an easy pace with one mile at marathon pace).

In regards to my non-running workout, I completed 200 sit-ups, 25 push-ups, 60 (50, 40, 30 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls.

For some reason, I rarely ever compete in races shorter the 26.2 miles.  However, over the last couple of years, I have been trying to expand my horizons to experience the joy of running races at various distances.  As a result, I woke up early this morning (another thing I usually do not do), did my non-running workout (200 sit-ups and 25 push-ups), and headed up to City Creek Canyon for the annual Half Road/Half Trail 8k (i.e., a Sports-AM race).

Since I was incorporating this race into my larger Saturday workout, I took the bus into town and got off at the Cathedral of the Madeleine and ran up B Street to the road that loops around to the front of City Creek Canyon.  The sky was pretty cloudy and menacing when I left home and shortly after I started to ascend through the Avenues, the rain really started to pour.  There was really no need for an iPod because the roaring thunder provided the soundtrack.  In addition, the wind began to gust so bad that I figured the only way to keep the hood of my windbreak over my head was to just duck my head and run.  Of course, if you are over six-and-a-half feet tall it’s a good idea to look up every so often while when you are running; that is, I ran straight into a low hanging branch while trying to plow my way through the wind and the rain up B Street.  For anyone that witnessed this collision outside their kitchen window, I’m okay and I’m not completely crazy; that is, just a neophyte runner trying to make to the starting line.

I arrived at the mouth of City Creek Canyon forty minutes before the start and huddled with the other early birds underneath a small tent.  Just before the 8:00 am start, there was a break in the rain and wind began to calm down.  However, the morning rain resulted in two changes to the race.  First, the half-trail part of the race was closed.  It was a bummer since I was hoping to gain some trail running experience for my race in September; however, I do not blame the race director for closing off this part of the race for safety purposes (it was absolutely the correct decision).  This meant the race was an 8k out and back on the City Creek Canyon road (note: I believe the course was slightly shorter than 4.9 miles because the indirectness of the trail was eliminated).  Second, our timing chips were removed because there was a pool of standing water at the start line.  These rain-related changes equated to a fast pace, manually timed race.

Almost from the start of the race, this one runner took control and made the course look easy.  From my splits (see below), he seemed to be a good 5-10 seconds faster than me per mile.  I tried to catch up with him, but he was way too fast.  However, as long as he remained in sight, he definitely pushed me along and it was neat to watch him fly back down the canyon after the turnaround.  After the race, I found out his PR for the marathon is an amazing 2:27!  Wow, this is a whole notha’ level of running!!!  In short, I finished in a time of 27:07 and my splits were as follows: 6:29, 6:51, 6:08, 5:18, and 2:21 (this last one was basically a half-mile split). 

THE BEST PART:  it started to rain again after the race started and the intensity of the down pour just continued to increase through out.  When I crossed the finish line, I was completely soaked, but happy to have finished.  Since my clothes were waterlogged, it was just fun to standout there as the rain continued to pelt down and cheer on my fellow weekend runners as they fought through the conditions and crossed the finish line.  There were many fast times and great achievements on this rainy Saturday morning!    

After the post-race festivities, the rain began to let up for good and I dried out by running back home (I ran 14.6 non-racing miles at an easy pace).  As I ran down Capital Hill, I had a tremendous view of our great city as the weather began to clear up.  Also, I took advantage of the cool weather by running two laps of Liberty Park before heading down 500 East to home.  In summary, it was an eventful race and great workout!